Coaches Frustrated With SGA + Mark Cuban’s Biggest Regret In Dallas + LeBron’s Future

Summary

Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective – April 1, 2026

Episode Theme:
A deep dive into current NBA storylines with ESPN insiders: debate over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and fouls, Mark Cuban’s regret in Dallas, and LeBron James’ uncertain future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Coaches’ Frustration with SGA’s (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) Playing Style

Timestamps: 02:01 – 17:30

• Foul Discussions:

  • The crew discusses how Thunder star SGA draws a high volume of free throws. This has led to frustration and criticism from opposing coaches, particularly about his ability to “foul bait.”
  • Ben McMahon references first-hand perspectives from recent games:

    “They both credited Shea for essentially being a master foul baiter... he’s mastered how to manipulate the rules. Nobody is accusing Shai of anything unethical.” (Ben McMahon, 04:13)

  • Both Mike Brown (Knicks) and JB Bickerstaff (Cavs) acknowledged SGA’s skill, but voiced displeasure over the officiating and noted specifics like SGA’s skilled arm bar/push-off moves.

• Is it Fair Play or a Flaw in the Rules?

  • The group breaks down the legalities and nuances of SGA’s moves, including the use of the arm bar to create separation. They agree most star players do this, but SGA is among the best.

  • “This is routine in the NBA... many other players know this and use the same move. It is routine... they’re not going to call it.” (Tim Bontemps, 08:03)

  • The case is made that unless the arm is fully extended, refs aren’t calling it.

• Broad NBA Context:

  • The crew explains this isn’t unique to SGA—Luka, Brunson, Tatum, Kawhi, Giannis, and others regularly use similar techniques.
  • The term "foul merchant" is dissected and gently mocked as an odd criticism for someone with a skill historically prized among great scorers.
  • McMahon quotes Mike Brown on SGA:

    “Shea is the best in the league in terms of gamesmanship...knows when to attack, how to attack, who to attack...the gamesmanship to get the call.” (Ben McMahon quoting Mike Brown, 11:48)

  • Windhorst points out that rule changes would just lead star players to develop alternative methods, because “that’s what people do when rules are set up. They find ways to figure out how to use the rules to their advantage.” (Brian Windhorst, 14:44)

• Memorable Moments:

  • A mini-debate over whether fans (especially “casuals”) complain too much about NBA officiating and foul-drawing:

    “If you love the mid-range game, you should have the Thunder on league pass watching Shea every single night. He is one of the best mid-range shooters in the history of the game.” (Ben McMahon, 15:16)

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2. Mark Cuban’s Regret and the Mavericks’ Organizational Uncertainty

Timestamps: 21:03 – 30:41

• Cuban’s Public Comments:

  • The crew unpacks Mark Cuban’s recent comments from the “Intersections” podcast:

    “I don’t regret selling the team. I regret selling the team to those people...I made a lot of mistakes in the process and I’ll leave it at that.” (Mark Cuban, quoted by Ben McMahon, 21:19)

  • McMahon doesn’t find Cuban’s regret surprising, having heard it privately many times. Cuban apparently hoped for retained influence post-sale but found himself sidelined.

• The Sale Fallout:

  • There’s tension over “who controls basketball ops” — Cuban claims he thought he’d keep a significant role, but new ownership (Patrick Dumont) has excluded him beyond a mere symbolic presence.
  • McMahon on the hiring of Nico Harrison:

    “How did Nico Harrison get in that position? Did Patrick Dumont hire him?...I believe Mark Cuban hired him.” (25:11) “You created the situation that blew up in your face. Like we’re supposed to play violins and listen to you cry. Give me a break.” (Ben McMahon, 25:38)

  • Speculation that Cuban may be leaking stories to the media to stay relevant or potentially bid to buy the team back—although, as McMahon notes:

    “He knows he’s not buying it back. It’s going to go the other way. Adelson and Dumont families can buy 20% more of Cuban share, get him down to 7%. That’s going to happen.” (Ben McMahon, 26:34)

  • Windhorst’s Dismissal:

    “Cuban’s having a temper tantrum. And I don’t really care what Mark Cuban has to say...He doesn’t own the Mavericks anymore. I don’t care about his thoughts.” (Brian Windhorst, 27:13)

• Front Office Uncertainty:

  • The group highlights the Mavericks’ urgent need to settle their front office, with critical decisions looming in the draft and free agency.

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3. LeBron James’ Open Future—What’s Next?

Timestamps: 37:10 – 47:26

• LeBron’s Free Agency:

  • For the first time since 2018, LeBron will be an unrestricted free agent with no contractual option, creating rare uncertainty.
  • Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps break down the options and factors:
    1. Will LeBron play another season?
    2. How much money does he want?
    3. Timing—if he waits too long, options may dry up.

• Possible Destinations:

  “The teams that we had come up in conversation...staying with the Lakers, going across town and playing for the LA Clippers...Golden State Warriors...Cavs... Knicks... or play with Nikola Jokic in Denver.” (Brian Windhorst, 41:16)

• Factors Behind Decisions:

  • Family, business interests, winning chances, money, and personal priorities—all play into LeBron’s thought process.
  • McMenamin leans toward Lakers staying favorites, especially given L.A.’s recent success and off-court advantages:

    “If he wants to come back, you’re not talking about a lot of money. That’s the sacrifice he would make. But everything else checks the box.” (Dave McMenamin, 43:30)

  • Windhorst challenges that there's no clear favorite, as “nobody really knows what LeBron wants.”

• Cap & CBA Complications:

  • Detailed breakdown of why a Cleveland reunion is unlikely unless LeBron takes a minimum contract.

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4. The "Cojones Factor" Segment – Players of the Month

Timestamps: 47:35 – 57:35

• A light-hearted but in-depth monthly recap rewarding NBA “clutch” performances.
• Honorable Mentions: Amen Thompson’s tip-in for Houston, Dennis Jenkins’ big shots for Detroit.
• Winners:
  • Brass Balls: Luka Doncic for his dominant clutch play with the Lakers, particularly a memorable game-winner.
  • Jamal Murray: For leading the NBA in clutch scoring during March, helping Denver rebound from a midseason slump.
  • Cojones Factor Player of the Month:

    “Shea Gildas Alexander… you had 44 clutch points on 21 shots in 29 minutes… you hit that dagger against the warriors… you are the cojones factor player of the month for March. Congratulations.” (Ben McMahon, 56:04)

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5. Notable Quotes

• On SGA’s Foul Drawing:

  • “He knows when to attack, how to attack and who to attack… he has a fantastic job of contorting his body… gamesmanship to get the call.”
    – Ben McMahon (11:48, quoting Mike Brown)

• On Mark Cuban’s Situation:

  • “You created the situation that blew up your face. Like we’re supposed to play violins and listen to you cry. Give me a break.”
    – Ben McMahon (25:38)

• On LeBron’s Upcoming Decision:

  • “That is the question that everyone that I have talked to is sort of asked back… what do we think LeBron wants? And I don’t think anybody really knows.”
    – Brian Windhorst (45:15)

• On the Cojones Factor Winner:

  • “Shea Gildas Alexander … you are the cojones factor player of the month for March. Congratulations.”
    – Ben McMahon (56:04)

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6. Philanthropy: The To the Max Foundation

Timestamps: 57:52 – 61:23

• Shout out to Scott Morrison (Jazz assistant coach) and his wife Suzanne’s “To The Max Foundation,” supporting autism acceptance.
• Each spring, NBA coaches wear custom Air Max shoes, auctioning them via Sotheby’s for charity.

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Memorable Moments

• Trading Card Collectibles Sidelight:
  Amusing aside where Windhorst and McMenamin discuss seeing a LeBron James rookie card worth ~$600,000 courtside at a Lakers game (31:01–34:36).

• Ben’s Self-Deprecating Humor:
  Ben jokes: “I want a ten-day [contract] from a tanking team is what I really want.” (53:37)

• Windhorst’s Deadpan on Cuban:
  “Cuban’s having a temper tantrum. And I don’t really care what Mark Cuban has to say.” (27:13)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:01 – 17:30—Coaches’ frustration with SGA and the “foul merchant” debate
• 21:03 – 30:41—Mark Cuban’s biggest regret and Mavericks’ drama
• 37:10 – 47:26—LeBron James’ free agency, options, and factors
• 47:35 – 57:35—“Cojones Factor” clutch performances (Luka, Murray, SGA)
• 57:52 – 61:23—To The Max Foundation, philanthropy segment

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Conclusion

This episode delivers quintessential Hoop Collective analysis—breaking down high-level basketball nuance (SGA’s foul-drawing, LeBron’s open-ended future), mixing in reporting, behind-the-scenes insight (Mavs’ front office drama), and plenty of humor and banter. Whether you’re interested in the intricacies of NBA officiating, front office soap operas, or the soap opera that is LeBron’s next move, this is an essential listen.

Transcript

[Ben McMahon]

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[Brian Windhorst]

You can add protein cold foam to

[Ben McMahon]

your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.

[Tim Bontemps]

Hello. Welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Tuesday afternoon. Joining us from New York City, Tim Bonteps.

[Brian Windhorst]

Hello everybody. By the way, I'm wearing a you bet hoodie. Our guy Ryan Ruko sent it over. We know we're it's established on the pod that we like free merch. So there it is. Free merch from our guy Ryan Ruko.

[Ben McMahon]

I have not gotten mine yet.

[Tim Bontemps]

He prioritized bond temps.

[Brian Windhorst]

I think that's right. As he should. As he should.

[Tim Bontemps]

Ryan Ruko calls games for the NBA and WNBA and this college too, right?

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. He's the voice of all women's basketball, women's basketball aficionado for espn. In addition to his NBA duties and Nets duties.

[Tim Bontemps]

His trademark is when a shot goes down, he goes you bet.

[Brian Windhorst]

You bet.

[Tim Bontemps]

But my preference is when he's considering a you bet. When the player misses, he just goes, no bot attempts for three. No. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, just back from Oklahoma City where he had A lovely little two game road trip is Ben McMahon.

[Ben McMahon]

Howdy, partners. Also fresh back off of a a lunch on the Mavs dives. Mavs executives, no whining, but dining local media types and you know, chit chatting. Hadn't heard anything that the Cuban had said recently, but it was pleasant to see folks.

[Tim Bontemps]

Is that thought that was an off the record luncheon.

[Ben McMahon]

There was an on the record portion at the end where it was clarified that gee whiz, Cuban had said something publicly recently. We have. That's news.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, we'll get to that. Okay. I would like to ask for something. I ask for so little.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's not true.

[Tim Bontemps]

This could be grant. This should be easily granted. We're going to have a grown up conversation now and that grown up conversation is going to be about Shay, Gildas, Alexander and Fowls. And because you just experienced this for the last 48 hours, McMahon, the Thunder are going to play many, many big games over the next two months in all likelihood. And I would like to have a conversation about what we are going to see and what's going on. And I would like to invite you, wherever side you are on this discussion to step out of your feelings and your assumptions and let's have a discussion as adults who watch professional basketball at a reasonably level of intellect, as you would Be. If you listen to this podcast, can

[Brian Windhorst]

we all agree, you know McMahon's on the pod, right?

[Ben McMahon]

Hey, hey. I'm not live tweeting my thoughts on calls during games.

[Tim Bontemps]

I will say that, McMahon, I liked the questions that you asked to Mark Dagenault and Shay after the game against the Pistons where you invited them to make the MVP case.

[Ben McMahon]

Oh, they. I think they liked them, too, because they liked, oh, you know, those Okie folks. They like those high roads. They like those high roads, baby.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, we're going to be adults.

[Ben McMahon]

There's bridges in Oklahoma City.

[Tim Bontemps]

There's no silver. This is one of. You know, Sam Presti has like five amazing quotes like, you know, I'm not being facetious, like, that are awesome. And I'll never forget that one, like, three years ago. There's no silver platters in Oklahoma. Which, you know, I get what he's saying. There are silver platters in Oklahoma.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, there are.

[Tim Bontemps]

His point is that that's what they serve when they serve McMahon at the goat. They bring it. They bring. They bring his IPA on a silver platter.

[Ben McMahon]

No IPAs.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, well, I don't know what you drink. Whatever you drink, it ain't water. All right. Anyway, Mike Brown with the Knicks and JB Bickerstaff, although McMahon Bickerstaff didn't really.

[Ben McMahon]

He.

[Tim Bontemps]

He kind of took a little bit of the high road. He didn't really go in on the ref.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, honestly, Mike Brown and J.B. bickerstaff, both of their comments were very similar. Also, both of their interactions with the officials were very similar, which I had a front row seat in both these games, sitting at the score table right behind the visiting coach and, you know, doing my best to eavesdrop on some of those conversations. But they both credited Shea for essentially being a master foul baiter. And, you know, they, they. I think they both said, hey, it's something along the lines of, it's a skill, it's a talent. He's operating within the rules. I think they both might. Might have used the words if he's, you know, something along the lines of he's mastered how to manipulate the rules. Nobody is accusing Shay of doing anything unethical, to use a word that, you know, has been bounced around that is a grown up.

[Tim Bontemps]

I like hearing that because I didn't see all of JB's comments, but I like hearing that because that's what I am encouraging the basketball community writ large to do is act like a grown up and listen.

[Ben McMahon]

Neither of them were thrilled with the whistle. Just to be clear, Shay shot more free throws in the opposing teams in both of those games.

[Brian Windhorst]

Both.

[Ben McMahon]

OKC win. JB at one point, is yelling at Scott Foster. He's allowed to miss, too. You know, there were like, there were times where he was saying, hey, he's driving the basket like anybody else. That's marginal contact for anybody else. You're sending him to the line, you know, so there was that argument. And then one thing that opposing coaches really do harp on with the refs, with Shay is the arm bar, the push off, the stiff arm, sometimes, whatever you want to call it, which JB lobbied and lobbied and lobbied, and they blew the whistle on that, on what would have been a go ahead shot with four seconds remaining, regulation. And I asked JB about that after the game, he's like, yeah, they made the right call.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes, it was not an arm bar in that particular case. It was not an armbar. He was. That was a push off.

[Ben McMahon]

It is perfectly legal and a. It is a skill to be a physical offensive player who uses your shoulder to create space. Shay's a master at that. Luka's outstanding at that. You know, basically every guard who's able to score in the paint and in the mid range excels at that. I think Shai's as good as there is. Now, that's the shoulder, not. And the difference is when you get that arm extended, then that should be an offensive foul. Shay usually does a good job of not extending the arm. He got away with it in the biggest shot in the NBA Finals. Game 4 at the end there, when they needed that bucket to avoid going down 3:1 in the finals. He did get away with it on that one. He didn't get away with it with four seconds left in regulation.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right? Okay, so bond temps.

[Ben McMahon]

Just.

[Tim Bontemps]

This is what I'm saying, what Shay does, especially at the end of games, okay. When he comes in with about 6ish minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Thunder need baskets. They go to him at the top of the key, and sometimes they run pick and roll, sometimes they run straight isolation. But Shay goes to this move and he goes through it the whole game, but it's particularly late in the game. So as we go into the playoffs, this is what's going to happen. He can. He can do it with either arm, but he particularly is good at it. I've seen with his left arm, the hand is in a fist, the arm is parallel to the court, and he uses it to change speed on his opponent in a lot of Ways, it's sometimes to decelerate, sometimes it's just to create space. And we can debate about whether this should be called an offensive foul. It's something that may be debated whether it should be called an offensive foul in the future. But I'm telling you, they did not call this as an offensive foul in October. They did not call it as an offensive foul in December. They're not calling it in March, and they're probably not going to call it in May and June. Okay. And many other players know this and use the same move. It is routine in the NBA for a guy to use that arm bar to create separation and in a lot of cases, to change speed. What I mean by changing speed is that they can sometimes use that to decelerate. A player can drive into somebody, use the arm bar, he can slow down, and the player he's defending can keep going. And that's how space is created. And when that happens, it really looks like a push off. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's literally just him using it as a bracelet that he can slow down with it. Bontemps. This is. This is. Regardless of whether you want to believe it is a foul. Not you Bond temps, but the royal you. They're not going to call it. Okay, can we all understand they're not

[Ben McMahon]

going to call it if the arm's

[Tim Bontemps]

not extended, its arm's not extended and the hand is not being used. Right. Because on the play for the fifth foul, he was using the hand. In the case of Michael Jordan, the famous where he moved, moved Russell out of the way, which is cemented in the Jazz WI fi, isn't it, McMahon? Yeah, the Wi fi at the media center at the.

[Ben McMahon]

I haven't been there for a while, but it was last time I was there.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes, Jordan pushed off. Isn't that what it was?

[Ben McMahon]

Something like that, yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

Anyway, Bontemps, like, has any. Do you have any problem with anything I've said so far?

[Brian Windhorst]

Me, personally? No, I don't.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay. Well, not just personally, like professionally, No, I don't.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, I don't. I don't disagree with anything you said. No.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay.

[Ben McMahon]

And by the way, Luka fans don't want that called. Brunson fans don't want that called Jason

[Brian Windhorst]

Tatum, Jalen Brunson, Kawhi Leonard. Giannis is hurt, but Giannis, Nikupo, all these guys operate the same move. I asked Mty McCutcheon about it in October at the officials meeting and he, you know, disagree. I mean, I said, I think this is A huge problem and something that the league should look at and he didn't think it was something they really should have as part of their points of emphasis this year. I'll be curious to see if they do next year. But yeah, I mean, it's not like it's only Shay that does it by a long shot. And I don't know, I just really enjoyed Shay coming in and getting to his spots and not hitting the rim on any of those jumpers. Like, yeah, he got fouled some. He also came in and immediately banked three shots in a row and got exactly to where he wanted to and instantly erased a seven point deficit almost by himself. Which, you know, is why he has won a title and might win another and has an MVP and might win another. But the Cade Cunningham, by the way, who was hurt last night, also does the same thing. Like all the great players have figured out, this is a way to create more space and more room to operate on offense. And you know, the league has in general shifted towards a more physical style the past couple of years. It's why we've talked a lot about these small guards, you know, the Trae Youngs and John Morantz of the world having more issues than in the past because more physical play is allowed. And what's the, the through line of all these guys we're talking about? I mean, Jalen Brunson's not tall. The rest of these guys are all tall. And all these guys play with physical force. And they all know the rules inside and out. They all know exactly how to manipulate the rules inside and out. And it's why they're all wildly successful players and it's why both to your point, Brian, this is a topic we'll be talking about a lot in the playoffs. And it's why they all use this move because it's super effective. It's not, it's certainly not one guy

[Ben McMahon]

that's figured it out well and, and, and the way Mike Brown put it. And again, Biggerstaff's comments were pretty similar, was Shea is the best in the league in terms of gamesmanship. And I said, what makes him the best there? He said his body control is amazing. Not only that, he knows when to attack, how to attack and who to attack. Then he still has the awareness of where everybody is on the floor. And when he goes into his shot, he does a fantastic job of contorting his body. And if he feels any contact at all, he knows how to twitch his body or whatever. It's just the gamesmanship to get the call.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's exactly right. And so you can say that you don't like that a player does that. That's totally fine. You can say that you don't think that player should be rewarded. That's an opinion. That's totally fine. But I'm telling you that most of the time, of course not all of the time, but most of the time they are fouls.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, and if they're not, then you're going to see opposing coaches use their challenges.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right. But I'm just saying, like people go crazy and most of the time when you watch the replays, they're fouls.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, and here's the thing. You know, I've asked Shay about this. He kind of shrugs and says that's a conversation that's out of my control, like I'm not worried about it. And he'll tell you the, you know, the players that I grew up watching and loving and studying were great at getting to the foul line. You know, Michael Jordan was great at getting to the foul line. The best scorers over the history of the league have all been great at getting to the foul line. And you know, this foul merchant, free throw merchant has become like an insulting term. It's like, well, you want a guy who's great at avoiding getting fouled. What the hell sense does that make?

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, he's also a hit clutch 18 footer in the fourth quarter. Merchant.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, and we do have cajones factor coming up later.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay. Not even at the end of the month. Oh my God, this is amazing.

[Brian Windhorst]

And the other thing is. Yeah, you remembered this time. And the other thing is too, if they change the rules this summer and say, hey, we're going to get rid of this armbar. You know what? Jay and Jason Tatum and Kate Cunningham and Luka Doncic and Victor Weminyama and all these guys. Well, I'll figure out other ways to get to the foul line and we'll still get fouled and we'll still get free throws because they're all really smart. They know the rules inside and out and they know how to manipulate the rules. Just like to go back to the other day when we were talking about the tanking stuff. Once there's new tanking, once there's new anti tanking rules in place, whatever they are, guess what? All the teams will sit there and they will figure out if there's a way to manipulate them and how. So if they get in a situation where they can, they will. Because that's what people do when rules are Set up. They find ways to figure out how to use the rules to their advantage. This is what happens everywhere, not just in basketball, not just on the court. And it's what's going to happen with this. And like some of the conversation around Shea I just find to be very strange because I love watching the guy play. Like the five, six minutes of that game in regulation was a masterclass. Like he comes in, he's immediately banging all these shots. He doesn't hit the rim, makes a great play to hit. Jalen Williams, who by the way is a really, really underrated good player, like fills every role they need him to, sometimes doesn't play.

[Tim Bontemps]

Arkansas Jalen Williams.

[Brian Windhorst]

Arkansas Jalen Williams. Sometimes he doesn't play. Sometimes he'll play 28 minutes and score 25 points. You know, like makes a ton of big plays for him and he just figures out a way to win all these games and knows exactly the right play to make all the time. It's, it's awesome to watch.

[Ben McMahon]

It's funny because there's been a lot of, a lot of whining and crying from, I would say a lot from casual fans, frankly, about, oh, they do in the NBA shoot threes. If you love the mid range game, you should have the Thunder on league pass watching Shea every single night. He is one of the best mid range shooters in the history of the game. The guy shooting 55% on the floor and a large, large percentage of his shot diet are off dribble mid range jump shots.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know that this little public service we just had to perform will fail miserably.

[Ben McMahon]

It'll be popular in San Antonio. I think they'll love it in Los Angeles.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, I just, you know, I'm. These particular last two nights where I thought Shay was terrific, you know, I mean, do I prefer it like a couple weeks ago when he played the warriors and did that like incredible escape dribble to his right and hit that three pointer. Would I prefer him to win games like that as opposed to winning games with the free throw line? Yes, I would prefer to do that. That was the. Where the quote was. I have the answers. I just wait for the questions. That's where it's spawned.

[Ben McMahon]

No, that was a Denver game when it was a very similar shot.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, sorry. It was the next day.

[Brian Windhorst]

He had a lot of jump shots in this game last night.

[Ben McMahon]

Yes, they also hit that exact same shot. It just got waved off with the game.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's right.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, that's right. It wasn't the exact same. That was foul that was. I mean, actually I give the referee ransom. I can't remember how you pronounce his first name.

[Ben McMahon]

I think it's Finisi.

[Tim Bontemps]

I give him credit for making that call. That took guts. I think that was the correct call.

[Ben McMahon]

Shea was called for another offensive foul earlier in the game and it was a hook. Scott Foster called it and I was able to hear very clearly what JB said on that one. He said, at least somebody has some bleeping courage.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, Shay, does he. I will say this, he does get fouled, but he also is known to hook. He will get in there and do the hand fighting and he'll hook. And you know, if he cooks, they should call it again.

[Brian Windhorst]

So will every single other great offensive player in the league.

[Tim Bontemps]

I agree.

[Brian Windhorst]

It's not just like a one person thing.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right? But you know that we're going to have a bunch of games in this playoffs come down to these moments.

[Brian Windhorst]

Of course. But that will be the case whether it's. If the Lakers and Spurs are playing, it'll be the same thing. Like all the great players do all the same things. It's just. It is what it is.

[Ben McMahon]

Luka leads the league in free throws and the officiating of Luka also tends to dominate the conversation about him, but it's about how much he gets screwed by the refs.

[Tim Bontemps]

What's the over? Yeah, what's the over? Under on when luka gets his 17th technical, will it be against the Cavs tonight? Recordings before the game.

[Ben McMahon]

Like we said, it's a freebie. Man like go all out.

[Brian Windhorst]

I suspect he'll get attack against the cast, but that's just a guess. We'll see if I'm right tomorrow.

[Ben McMahon]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this quick timeout.

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[Tim Bontemps]

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[Ben McMahon]

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[Tim Bontemps]

Okay, so I didn't really think that this was news, but ended up as a headline written by you on our website, band McMahon.

[Ben McMahon]

I wasn't thrilled about that, but it's. It's a story people are talking about. Go on.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay, well, you talk. There's a story about Mark Cuban that you wrote on our website. It's on the front page of ESPN.com, which probably means that we'll get 1 million plus views. So what was this story?

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, and there was this podcast clip and I'll be honest with you, I gotta look up what the exact podcast was. It's not a sports podcast. I don't believe. Anyways, and so there's a clip that came out yesterday at some point during the day where Cubans the quote that has gotten the most attention is when Cuban says I don't regret selling the team. I regret selling the team to those people. And that. I mean that's. I Don't regret selling. I regret who I sold to. I made a lot of mistakes in the process and I'll leave it at that. This was on the Intersections podcast. That clip came out yesterday. Podcast published today. And you know, I wasn't shocked that he said that because I'll be honest with you, Cuban said that to me many, many times. And I've always said, Mark, if you want to talk about that on the record, I'll write it. But if you want to like complain about it off the record and like, like, dude, that's your problem. And he decided to say it on the record and he didn't, he didn't give it to me. Now I might have had some different follow up questions. Perhaps that, that this has something to do with the.

[Tim Bontemps]

Might be right about that.

[Ben McMahon]

The platform that he chose. And so. Okay, and listen, and then this comes on the heels of this story that Mark Stein had. I don't remember exactly when it was. Was it right around the All Star break? I believe so. Anyways, I don't remember last month sometime where it's like Cuban and this group of mystery investors are trying to put together a plan to buy back the Mavericks. And then Cuban shot that story down to the Dallas Morning News a couple of days later. And listen, I don't like getting into the business of guessing who one of our colleagues or one of our peers sources are or what their sourcing is. But I can just tell you, people close to Patrick Dumont, the governor of the Mavericks, are pretty sure that Mark Cuban leaked the story in the first place. So it was put to me. They said Mark Cuban is one hell of an arsonist and a firefighter. And so like, look, Cuban sold the team and now he's saying he sold it because there was, you know, the emotional.

[Tim Bontemps]

He's given like five or six answers on this. I'm not sure that any of them are credible.

[Ben McMahon]

The emotional stress, he didn't want to pass it down to his kids. He didn't want to pass it before.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, he has said that before.

[Ben McMahon]

He said that the reason Mark Cuban sold the team and this he said on the record the day the sale went through is because as a mere middle class billionaire, now I'll put those words in quotes. As a mere middle class billionaire, he could not afford to fund an NBA contender. The Mavericks hadn't paid the luxury tax since they won a championship. You know, Jalen Brunson got away in part because the Mavericks were in complete cheapo. Cuban went complete cheapo also because they drastically mis Evaluated him. And so. But then, you know, there was this. Cuban's was adamant that he was going to control basketball operations. He's still adamant. That was part of the deal. Wasn't in writing. It wasn't in any of the language that, you know, has been suggested to me was pulled out. That. What I saw the language that was supposedly removed from the contract just said he was allowed to have a seat in the room. Now, you know, in Cuban's mind, a seat in the room. Well, why wouldn't I be in charge? I'm the smartest guy in here, you know, but that's.

[Tim Bontemps]

You can just have a seat in the room on this podcast.

[Ben McMahon]

Exactly. That's not the way these things work. But my point is this. Look, things have blown up since Cuban sold the team. Patrick Dumont drastically screwed up by letting Nico Harrison and Cuban's now sane. And Jason Kidd, by the way, trade Luka Doncic.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay?

[Ben McMahon]

And Dumont has to wear that. He has to own that. He had to. You know, he's still in the process of trying to clean that up. But here's the deal. How did Nico Harrison get in that position in the first place? Did Patrick Dumont hired. Was that. Was that Patrick Dumont's guy or who hired him? Anybody remember?

[Brian Windhorst]

I believe Mark Cuban hired him.

[Ben McMahon]

Oh, that's right. How do you get those titles? Who gave him those?

[Brian Windhorst]

I believe Mark Cuban gave him those, too.

[Ben McMahon]

Damn, that's right. That's weird. And Cuban said, yeah, but I never meant for him to have autonomy. I mean, I never meant for him to actually do the jobs. Those. I was going to do them. He was just. I just wanted his relationships. You created the situation that blew up your face. Like we're supposed to play violins and listen to you cry. Give me a break.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, he also. Was this the same podcast where he also said that, you know, again, something that's been interesting, that Jason Kidd was involved in the LUCA trademark.

[Ben McMahon]

And listen, we. I have reported that J. Kidd was absolutely frustrated with Luka Doncic. I cannot sit here and tell you straight up that I know for a fact that J. Kid was part of pushing Luke out the door. I damn sure suspected. I have written as much. I have said as much. I can't tell you that for a fact. I don't know that Mark can either, because Mark was very, very, intentionally, completely boxed out of the decision making process. But my belief there is he is probably right, you know, and why is he airing that now?

[Tim Bontemps]

You know, do you think this will help with his intent to buy back the Shares of the team.

[Ben McMahon]

He's, he knows he's not buying it back. It's going to go the other way. Adelson and Dumont families can buy 20% more of Cuban share, get them down to 7%. That's going to happen. You know what? Cuban's frustrated because he thought he was going to get back in at least the room in terms of, you know, basketball decision making. And Dumont kind of said, you know, like, Dumont listened to him as far as like the lobbying to fire Nico. And there was a meeting where Cuban was in the room. And then Cuban realized, damn, I'm really not going to have any say. Like, they really don't want to hear what I have to say. So Cuban's mad. He feels like he got his toy taken away.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, Cuban's having a temper tantrum. And I don't really care what Mark Cuban has to say. I just really don't like. No disrespect to Mark Cuban. He had a great 20 year run out on the Mavs and won a title and, you know, become a hugely famous and successful businessman. And like, that's all great, but he doesn't own the Mavericks anymore. I don't, I don't care about his thoughts on any of these things.

[Ben McMahon]

And why, why doesn't he own the Mavericks anymore?

[Brian Windhorst]

Because he sold them. He sold them to somebody else.

[Ben McMahon]

He made the decision to sell them.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's right. He sold his. He sold the team. I don't care what he has to say about the Mavericks. I don't really care about any of these things. I don't really need to hear more rehashing of the Luka Donches trade. It's now in the rearview mirror. It doesn't matter anymore. Like, what's done is done and what matters now is what the Mavericks do to have a front office to lead them going forward, whether they keep the current crew or they go hire somebody new to do that.

[Tim Bontemps]

Was anything said about that today? McMahon?

[Ben McMahon]

So, yeah, this lunch, it's, it's Rick Welts and Ethan Casson, who, you know, the, I forget the exact titles, but like the two top business side executives, you know, Rick Welts, hall of Famer, basically. He's, he was the CEO. I think he's still the CEO. Getting the, getting the arena done is his primary thing. And, and, and Ethan's is, I think he is the president now. Came over from the Minnesota Timberwolves anyways, so it's like a little informal thing and then there's an on record session and Ethan's up there. Poor guy's been there like seven months. Never worked for Cuban, you know, whatever. And they're like kind of saying, oh, yeah, it's a great partnership between Cuban and Dumont, blah, blah, blah. And it was Mike duce who of Fox 4. He basically said, well, how does that square with Cuban's comments that he didn't regret selling the team, but he regrets who he sold them to? And poor Ethan. It was like. It was like some of these politicians these days when things are going viral. Oh, I hadn't. I hadn't seen that. Didn't. Didn't cross my desk. I got to admit, I burst it out. I burst out laughing at that one.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, I just didn't know if they had updated on the timing for maybe hiring a replacement that Bontems referred to.

[Ben McMahon]

Oh, I'm sorry. I was dozing off because I was.

[Brian Windhorst]

Those guys are not. Those guys are not going to be making that decision.

[Ben McMahon]

So what they're saying, what people are saying, pretty critical draft. Need a guy in place for the draft process, not just a draft pick

[Brian Windhorst]

and the off season and free agency and deciding what to do with Kyrie Irving and the rest of the roster. Like, they got a ton of decisions to make across the board. It's a. It's a hugely important summer. They got to nail the draft pick wherever it lands. They got to figure all this stuff out, and that's what matters. Like, the Luka Dodges trade doesn't matter anymore. Like, they got Cooper flag. They're going to get another high pick. Like, you know it. That's what matters, is what do they do going forward. So I don't really need to hear Mark Cuban rehashing this stuff, and I don't really need to hear anything from our Cuban at all, because he's not the one deciding who's going to be running the team. That's what matters.

[Tim Bontemps]

Speaking of the trade I thought was funny, Rui Hachimura, the. The Wizards were in LA on Monday and he said, I forgot Anthony Davis played for the Wizards. He's like, I was surprised. I looked down there and I saw AD down there. I was like, well, he hasn't played for him yet.

[Brian Windhorst]

He hasn't played yet, by the way,

[Ben McMahon]

where I got distracted and tuned out Bond Temps, which also is just kind of a natural reaction. I was replying to a text from a former Maverick staffer. I'll just say. And the question was, what is Cuban trying to do? Stay relevant.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right. We are now joined by ESPN's LA based reporter Dave McMenamin. Hello, Dave. How are you? Thanks for joining us.

[Dave McMenamin]

I'm doing well. Happy to join you both.

[Tim Bontemps]

Hey, before we talk about the story that you and Bontemps published on Tuesday, I want to talk about what happened at the Laker game the other night.

[Brian Windhorst]

I heard about this, so.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right. I know nothing about collectibles. I know nothing.

[Brian Windhorst]

Our guy Mac 10 does, though.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, well, he does. He's like my go to guy, frankly.

[Brian Windhorst]

I know. That's what I mean.

[Tim Bontemps]

He does some states, some like an hour before the game and I'm standing on the court and I was actually talking with Rob Pelinka, and this guy comes up to me, he's got courtside seats, and he's like, hey, check out this card. He shows me this card, and it's a LeBron James rookie card, apparently. Actually, Dave, I don't want to be. So anyway, he showed me two cards. One of them was a Kobe card, one of them was a LeBron card.

[Brian Windhorst]

I assume this is going to be a window card story. Windows trading card.

[Tim Bontemps]

No, no.

[Brian Windhorst]

High value. High value purchase.

[Tim Bontemps]

And so he's. He tells me what these cards are worth. I was gobsmacked. I walked into the media room and I saw Dave. I told Dave and he's like, I got to see these things. We go back out. All right, Dave, what did this guy have? Because I don't know what I was talking about.

[Dave McMenamin]

Okay, so it's an upper deck. Exquisite is a high end product. 2003, 2004. Back then, a box of that product probably cost anywhere from 2 grand to 5 grand.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, wow. Okay.

[Dave McMenamin]

And it, the idea is like every.

[Brian Windhorst]

Wait a second. When you bought it at the time.

[Dave McMenamin]

I didn't buy this. The product at the time.

[Brian Windhorst]

No, no, no. I'm asking. So in 2003, that box cost $2,000 to $5,000 for how many cards?

[Dave McMenamin]

I. I don't know. Not many cards. Maybe 50 cards. The idea is, holy moly. There's the. This super high end product that exists and it rounds around the time when it first became a thing where every single card in the box you pull is either numbered or has an autograph or has a relic which would be like a piece of a sneaker, a piece of a jersey, et cetera, et cetera.

[Tim Bontemps]

And this one had a piece of a jersey, right?

[Dave McMenamin]

This one had a piece of the jersey. So this was a LeBron James RPA. So rookie rookie card P is patch and the a auto. So LeBron James RPA numbered to 99 PSA, 10 graded.

[Tim Bontemps]

A perfect card with autographed, Right?

[Dave McMenamin]

Autographed, yeah, it's the A for the autograph. Yeah. And so only about 60 or so of the 99 have shown up in the 23 years since that product came out. And it's kind of his most desirable rookie card. And this guy's holding in his inside pocket and sitting courtside, he took a great photo on Instagram where he's holding up the card and you see Lebron James behind, behind the card on the court, still playing.

[Tim Bontemps]

He. So he told me, this gentleman, I have no idea what's true. I mean, he's a very nice guy. He told me he paid 600,000 for it.

[Dave McMenamin]

Yeah, that's. I mean, that's about right. There's. There's one on ebay, currently going for a million dollars.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm sorry, bond temps. We went on and on about trading cards.

[Brian Windhorst]

No, it's fine. This is Dave's. It's one of Dave's very favorite subjects.

[Dave McMenamin]

It's not really. It's. It's like a very, very, very side hobby. But one of those subjects.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes, you do.

[Tim Bontemps]

Anyway, I didn't know he, he knew all about this exquisite thing. I couldn't relate to this.

[Brian Windhorst]

I still can't get over that it cost 2 to $5,000 for a pack of 50 cards 20, 20 years ago.

[Tim Bontemps]

How about this guy just walking around with $800,000 with the cards on?

[Ben McMahon]

That's the wild.

[Brian Windhorst]

I mean, that's a choice.

[Dave McMenamin]

It's sweeping the nation though. It's very popular again. Yeah, I was with the Pelicans sweeping the nation. I was with the Pelicans staff a couple of weeks ago. They were going to the shop in Beverly Hills by their hotel. Jake Laravia. Every city we go to, he's finding a card shop.

[Tim Bontemps]

Do you think Jake Laravia has any exquisite cards?

[Brian Windhorst]

Bet he's got a one on one.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, I will just say this was front row mid court at the Laker game. So there probably was a bunch of people who had stuff on them that were worth a million dollars or more in value.

[Ben McMahon]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

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[Tim Bontemps]

All right, sorry. Bontemps and McManaman had a story that ran on Tuesday. What is next for LeBron James? Basically looking into where he could be next year when he for the first time since 2018, will be an unrestricted free agent. And this is the first time in his career he's been playing where he doesn't have an option on the contract. He's always had a player option on his contract. I guess the they had his team option. Sorry, story time. When LeBron was a rookie, you know back then you signed a four year contract and the fourth year was a team option. Now in the contracts year three and year four are team options, but back then, year three was a team option or year four was a team option. So I guess technically he had a team option anyway after his rookie season, when he won rookie of the year, like, at the exit interview, like, Jim Paxton told me this story as, like, sort of, hey, we are so happy with the way your rookie season went. Keep it up. They picked up his option for his fourth year. So, like, you know, so he was a rookie in 3, 4, 5, 5, 6. So they picked up his 20067 contract option in, like, the spring of 2004. They're like, hey, LeBron, here. Here's the piece of paper. Your contract option is picked up. Bon Temps, you think it's possibly the earliest contract pickup in NBA history?

[Brian Windhorst]

Probably up there, I would think.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, here we are again. I'm way down the story timeline. So, Bontemps, this story, you guys put this together. Why don't you take us through. You and Dave take us through this. I'll shut up for a little bit.

[Brian Windhorst]

Go ahead, Dave.

[Dave McMenamin]

I mean, listen, Tim, we talk to people all the time. NBA games, whether it be coaching staff members, agents, scouts, whatever. Everyone has been talking about what LeBron's going to do. It comes up nightly if you're at a game, not just a Lakers game, just had a game around the league. And so Tim and I got to put together some of the conversations that we've had with these people and tried to put our best kind of sense of organizing that information to give readers a sense of where LeBron could be going and the factors that will determine that decision. And so right off the bat, he needs to determine whether he's going to play or not. And it seems like his intention is to play. Then he's got to decide how much money he wants to play for and when he's going to make that decision, whether he's going to play or not. Because if he waits too long, waits into August, I think a lot of teams will have their rosters already kind of settled. There might be less options for him then. And then, you know. Tim, how about you tell us some of the teams that people are talking about now?

[Brian Windhorst]

Dave is hosting. Yeah, no, look, I think if you go back to the summertime and when Rich Paul put out the. I don't know if it's fair to call it infamous statement, but. Statement, along with announcing that they were picking up the player option for this season, since that moment forward, there's been discussion about where LeBron is going to play next year. And today's point about the timing, this really is the first time. I don't know. You would know this better than me, Brian, but probably since LeBron was in elementary school or middle school at the latest, that the basketball team he was on was not centered around LeBron James. What LeBron James is going to do

[Tim Bontemps]

in the future, certainly every team I've ever known him to be on was centered around him.

[Brian Windhorst]

So it makes for a unique situation and it's why it's been such an interesting talking point in the league. And yeah, like we, we went, we in talking to people, we, we came up with several teams.

[Dave McMenamin]

I.

[Brian Windhorst]

Do you want me to run through all of them and then we talk about them, Brian, or do you want to do them one at a time? How would you like to do it?

[Tim Bontemps]

Just, you can run through them. Just run through them.

[Brian Windhorst]

So the teams, the teams that we had come up in conversation with, people, obviously one would be staying with the Lakers, another would be going across town and playing for the LA Clippers. Staying, staying the same house, could potentially go up the coast and play with Steph Curry and Draymond Green and the Golden State warriors. Could go back to Cavs corner Northeast Ohio, have a nice storybook ending there, could come to New York and do the long anticipated stint with the Knicks and finish his career at the Garden. And one, I think pretty intriguing option that has come up in conversations I've had with people is to go play with Nikola Jokic in Denver. It doesn't mean that's the entire list, but those are the teams that we came up with.

[Tim Bontemps]

And Dave, I think like if I asked you in October and I asked you in December, you may have different rankings. What do you think as we do this at the beginning of April?

[Dave McMenamin]

Yeah, you asked me in October or December, I'd probably put retirement as the number one option here. As of today, covering LeBron with the Lakers winning 15 out of 17 games and accepting this role that I, I didn't know I'd ever see him actually accept being willingly this much off the ball. Why wouldn't he stay with the Lakers? Like, it gives him all the off court things that he values, his business empire, his family, his son's on his team, his other son is a short flight away in Arizona and Bronnie is

[Tim Bontemps]

starting to really do really well.

[Dave McMenamin]

Yeah, Brownies has gotten some meaningful minutes over the last two weeks, which is a new development as well. And they're winning. So, you know, I think the only part of the equation that would be less desirable than other situations would be the money. Because the Lakers do intend to build this team around Luka Doncic and use their cap space to get younger and get some two way type players, some talent. And quite frankly they don't have a ton of cap space after they resigned Austin Reeves and Jeff Jackson, Hayes and Luke Kennard and maybe Rui Hachimora.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's not like they have all any cap space. If they resign all those sign all

[Brian Windhorst]

those guys, that's their whole team. So yes, that will be their.

[Ben McMahon]

So.

[Dave McMenamin]

So if he wants to come back, I mean you're not talking about a lot of money. That's the sacrifice he would make. But everything else checks the box. So the Lakers, I think are the number one by a wide degree at this point.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's interesting. I'm not sure I would agree with that personally, but tell me your argument then. Well, this is the thing that's come up in every conversation I've had about this for six months, which is really since going back to last June when the option decision was made. What does LeBron want? I don't think anybody really knows, honestly. Like to your point, Dave, like, does he want to stay in la?

[Tim Bontemps]

He may not know.

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, I'm not saying he does, but like does he want to stay, does he value staying in LA and being with the Lakers? Like I could see that as a viable thing. Does he value making the most money, which has been what he's valued at different points in his career? That probably doesn't make sense to be with the Lakers then. Is there another team that is going to want to pay him a max that he'd want to go to or a lot of money?

[Dave McMenamin]

Why are we just flat out discounting that though for a team that's won 15 out of 17?

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, I'm not discounting it. I'm just, I don't, I don't know if I would say that there's any team that's a wide margin ahead personally, that's all. Okay, that's all I meant. I'm not saying he's not staying with the Lakers. Right? But I personally don't have a sense of one team that's in front of anybody else. Just from my conversation with people. But that doesn't mean it's right. Just he might stay with the Lakers, but that to me it comes back to like, does he want to have the best chance to get a fifth ring? Does he want to make the most money? Does he want to live in Los Angeles like what as LeBron plays his, I guess be 24th season, that is the question that everybody that I have talked to is sort of asked back is what do we think LeBron wants? And I don't think anybody really knows.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay. And let's just acknowledge that. But let me just say something about like the idea of Cleveland, because that's something that is out there. LeBron's only going to Cleveland if he's willing to play for the minimum.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right.

[Tim Bontemps]

Because the Cavs don't have cap space and they're going to be in either in the second apron or the first apron. If you're in either, you're not going to have a full mid level exception. And the idea that you could sign and trade for him, like let's say the Lakers say, all right, LeBron, if you want to go in Cleveland, we'll sign and trade you for Jared Allen. Lakers need a center. It's not the craziest concept ever. The Cavs aren't allowed to do that trade. If you're in the first or second apron. You can't receive a player in a sign and trade.

[Dave McMenamin]

Where they are right now, they'd have to make subsequent moves to get out of that.

[Tim Bontemps]

Correct. They'd have to really retrofit their team. Like, I think there's ways to do

[Brian Windhorst]

that in some form with LeBron that don't require massively heavy surgery.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right. But the concept of LeBron is that, you know, in Cleveland is that you're going to play with Harden and Mitchell and Mobley and, you know.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right.

[Tim Bontemps]

It only works if he's taken the minimum, which is $4 million. He's making 50.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right. And that's where it comes back to. I think maybe he will.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm not saying he won't, but that's

[Brian Windhorst]

where I think it comes back to is what, what, what does he want to do in what's either the last year of his career, one of the last years in his career, like, to Dave's point, he has done a great job sort of falling into this, you know, whether it's Chris, Chris Bosh role or Kevin Love role, whatever, is like the third star on the team. Like, does he want to do that again next year? Would he rather go have the ball more somewhere else? Would he rather play with other players? Would he rather be in a situation where he optimizes his chance to win a title? Would he rather, you know, put the capstone of his career going back to Cleveland again and playing there one last time with a team that could win the east, obviously, if you just put him on the team at a minimum, especially like they're going to be the favorites to win the east like that. I haven't talked to anybody that has a sense of what it is he's going to want to do. And I think going back to how Dave laid it out at the beginning, from the timing of his decision to how much money he wants to make to where he wants to play, all these things come back to that central premise to me of what is his decision making process going to be?

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, Dave and Tim break it down significantly. You should check the story out on espn.com Dave, thank you so much. We'll talk to you and see you soon.

[Dave McMenamin]

Thanks, fellas.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right. It's that time of year, that time of the month, I should say, not that time of the month. Oh, it's McMahon's favorite time of the month. It's time for the cojones factor, Which means you've got the ball, McMahon, both of them.

[Ben McMahon]

It is a segment that has been described as one of one. Baby, here we go. And listen, we're making sure we get this in on time.

[Brian Windhorst]

It's definitely not one of one honorable mentions, that's for sure. Are we skipping those again?

[Ben McMahon]

We've got two honorable mentions.

[Brian Windhorst]

Two.

[Ben McMahon]

Or this month, rather. We're trimming the last day of the month off for timing purposes, just to make sure we get this at the beginning of the month.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay.

[Ben McMahon]

April Fool's Day and all. Only one true buzzer beater this month. So only one buzzer beating honorable mention. Anybody remember? Anybody? Anybody?

[Brian Windhorst]

I don't.

[Ben McMahon]

It's been a long time. Thompson's high flying tip in to beat the Miami 83ers on the night that Kevin Durant passed Michael Jordan and really kind of saved the day because it would have been like, how do you celebrate passing Michael Jordan if you, if you missed the game, deciding shot. So Min Thompson swooped in, saved the day. You know, they had a nice little celebration in the locker room. Vibes are high in Houston, or so they want to keep telling us. So anyways, that was the one buzzer beat the other honorable mention, Dennis Jenkins from the Detroit Pistons has kept that thing, not only kept it afloat like they've been playing pretty good basketball.

[Tim Bontemps]

He almost had another buzzer beater in. Okay.

[Ben McMahon]

See it well, and that's the thing. He would have been, he would have been in the top three if that thing would have fallen because that would have been a buzzer beater on the road against the Defending champs with the Pistons.

[Tim Bontemps]

He wouldn't have won with two buzzer beaters.

[Ben McMahon]

The first one wasn't a pure buzzer beater but it was a hell of a shot to catch a 30 point performance against the Lakers with a, you know, with a game winner.

[Brian Windhorst]

He's getting the love of a, of a winner though with his, with his, with one of a multitude of honorable mentions.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah. So yeah, if, if, if the three would have fallen against okc, he'd have been up in the top three. But it's a pretty damn jam packed top three. So we will start with the brass balls. I've got them in the same spot here as I do on my mythical MVP ballot so far for the season. On the, on the ballot that I just turned in for the old BS straw poll that is Luka Doncic. The shooting percentage in the clutch wasn't pretty for him, but the results overall were he did hit kind of I, I, I. Pretty shocking that that shot he hit against Denver was his first like you know, last, whatever it was 5 second last 10 second game winner in a Lakers uniform. But it was, he was plus 28 and 35 clutch minutes. The Lakers as they've done most of the season were pretty dominant in crunch time. 28 points, 7 assists. Like I said, not a pretty shooting percentage but you know, carried the Lakers to a lot of wins down the stretch of games. And so Luka Doncic with the brass balls. Reaction, feedback, Objections?

[Brian Windhorst]

I was just waiting for the jam packed listing of the awardees to be done.

[Tim Bontemps]

No, I mean I think it's a pretty good chance Luka's going to win. Well, they don't give a player of the month in March. They do it for March and April. Right. So well,

[Ben McMahon]

top of this thing's going to have a chance here. So the Denver Nuggets really kind of bizarrely went through a mid season clutch funk where they kept losing close game after close game after close game. And you know you're used to that two man game, Joker and Murray taking them home. And for whatever reason they, they weren't able to do it during a significant stretch of the season after Joker came back from that knee injury. Well, they've got things to fix, specifically the defense, but they fixed the their little crunch time issues. Jamal Murray led the league clutch scoring last month, 45 points in 35 minutes. Also had seven assists. They went seven and three in clutch games nut cutting time. That's last three minutes within three points, 21 points and five assists, plus 21 and 17 minutes and they were six and two in those games. Joker had some really nice numbers too, but Jamal Murray's jumped off the page. We're talking about one of the best big shot makers in the NBA and he's back making a bunch of big shots for the Nuggets.

[Tim Bontemps]

He had a 53 point game last week.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, not a lot of clutch situation in that one. They were playing the mighty Mavericks there. Although actually there was some in that one. Now that I think about it, that's the one where the Maverick, they gave up 130 something in the Mavericks. That gets back to. They got some things to fix. I told you, it was Alice versus Ember.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's right. That was.

[Ben McMahon]

They got some things to fix on the.

[Tim Bontemps]

Was that get up that you were on? They liked that.

[Ben McMahon]

That was NBA Today.

[Tim Bontemps]

I was sitting right across the little,

[Ben McMahon]

little desk from you.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, Jeremy Lynn, he liked that? Oh no, it was Perk. Perk liked it.

[Ben McMahon]

Everybody liked it.

[Tim Bontemps]

My memory is awful messed up. I didn't like it. I didn't care about it. I've heard it before. No.

[Ben McMahon]

Anyway, by the way, the end of his career, it was definitely Kenrick Perkins because the D disappeared late in his career.

[Tim Bontemps]

Jeremy Lin really took to McMahon. He'd never really seen anybody quite like all of his travels of basketball, all over the NBA and all over Asia. He'd never quite encountered anybody.

[Brian Windhorst]

He's a unique individual. We do know that. Do know that.

[Ben McMahon]

Hey, speaking of defense, can we just mention my defensive effort against Jeremy Lynn? I held him scoreless during a several minute long segment.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, I mean he didn't shoot, but had he shot, I'm sure he would

[Brian Windhorst]

have missed you getting a clutch, clutch honorable mention for your defense on the show.

[Ben McMahon]

No, I want a 10 day from a tanking team is what I really want.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's not far off.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, give me a break.

[Brian Windhorst]

It would work.

[Ben McMahon]

Listen, I'm just going to pull the curtains back a little bit. So I mean OKC Monday night and you know, Shea had big game, 47 points, 21 of those were in the last seven minutes of the fourth and overtime. Pretty strong performance. I mean, JJ Redick had been lobbying for Luka Doncic earlier in the evening to be mvp. You know, Wemby recently had his little three prong campaign pitch and so I inquired. Touche. You know, hey, it's been a lot of lobbying going on for mvp, you know, I said, what do you think of the MVP race? He said, there's been a lot of chatter, you know, and it's great for the league.

[Tim Bontemps]

He said, it was good for the league. Yeah.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, good for the league. There's been a lot of chatter, you know, a lot of great players. Makes for a good conversation. I said, well, there's been chatter on behalf of other players. Would you like to chatter on your own behalf? He said, nah, I'm good. Thanks for asking, though.

[Tim Bontemps]

How much do you think the retail value of those sunglasses where he was wearing while he was talking to you?

[Ben McMahon]

Probably at least as much as my entire wardrobe.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay.

[Ben McMahon]

But he said, he said, I let my game do the talking. Oh, was that a little shot at Wimy? Was that a little shot at our favorite ethical 7 1/2 footer?

[Tim Bontemps]

I loved it, whatever it was. I loved when. When Victor said this stuff. And I love that too, so.

[Ben McMahon]

And then, Dag, nobody in OKC is going to lobby on behalf of Shea for mvp. Well, then I see Shay in the hallway.

[Tim Bontemps]

They're above.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this out loud, but I see Shay in the hallway and he was groveling for an award, begging me to be the Cajones Factor player of the month for March. Wow. I mean, just like, listen, he said, I don't care.

[Tim Bontemps]

He's got everything else on the mantle.

[Ben McMahon]

He says, I don't care about mvp. If it comes, it comes. He says, but the Cohones factor, that, that's an award that really has great meaning in the NBA. Or, you know, I get a lot of lobbying.

[Brian Windhorst]

It's got so much meaning that there's more honorable mentions than winners.

[Ben McMahon]

That's so true. And I said, you know what, Shay? You had 44 clutch points on 21 shots in 29 minutes this month. I said, you know, you hit that dagger against the warriors that night. You broke Wilt's record. Or tied Wilt's record, rather. You hit that game winner from just about the same spot.

[Brian Windhorst]

Remember when this was going to be fast, Brian? Six minute preamble to saying Shay the clutch player is the clutch player of the month.

[Ben McMahon]

Jackson, is that mute button broken? Like, what are we doing here? You got the game winner waved off against the Pistons, but boy, did he finish strong. Nut cutting time. I mentioned Murray stats. How about this? 22 points, 6 to 7 from the floor, plus 17 and 11 minutes. The Thunder went 5 and O in those games. Am I leaving out the free throw stats intentionally? Yes, I am. There were a few free throws and he knocked those down too. Shay Gildas Alexander. Yes. I will give you your wish. I'm like a genie, baby. I will grant your wish. You are the cojones factor. Player of the month for March. Congratulations.

[Tim Bontemps]

Clear that mantle. Push those Bill Russell trophy and the Michael Jordan trophy. Just push it aside. I'm sure he bought the Larry o' Brien replica.

[Ben McMahon]

The Magic Johnson. Wait, no. What is. Who is the. Is it Oscar Robertson? Who's the conference finals one?

[Brian Windhorst]

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird?

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, that's right.

[Ben McMahon]

Is it Magic? Magic gets two oh one's Pro basketball's right Associated, I guess.

[Tim Bontemps]

And also when you win the championship here, I think you're. Danny Green was telling me this. You're. You can buy a replica of Larry o' Brien trophy. It's. It's not cheap. It's like many. It's thousands and thousands of dollars. I don't. I don't think it's the exact replica, but you can buy one. I'm sure he.

[Ben McMahon]

I'm sure he got a contract extension this summer. I'm guessing he can afford all the replica Larry o' Briens that. That he wants to get his hand hands on.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, you've done it again. You've done it again. Another brilliant season of cajones factories. It's beautiful.

[Brian Windhorst]

Just don't know how he does it.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, we have a cool thing that one of the friends of the show did. McMahon, you are a liaison for this. Why don't you take it away here?

[Ben McMahon]

So Scott Morrison, Utah Jazz assistant coach, his wife Suzanne have a foundation called the to the Max Foundation. And I think a lot of fans have seen every. Every season for at least last. I think this thing is the third year they're doing it or around this time of year. All the coaches, as part of the NBA Coaches association wear custom painted shoes. And for the last couple years, it's been Air Force ones. For this year, it's the Nike Air Max 90s. And we very closely, we are honored to be a part of this.

[Tim Bontemps]

Sweet. That cool logo on the back, too.

[Brian Windhorst]

We sure are honored. It's awesome.

[Ben McMahon]

Again, this is a foundation inspired by their son Max, who has autism. And this is to celebrate autism acceptance month. And so for the coaches, each coach wears the shoes once and then signs them and sends them back. They're auctioned by Sotheby's. That'll be May 12 through May 18. 100% of those proceeds go to the to the Max foundation creates meaningful access and experiences for autistic individuals and their families. You can check out sotheby's.com to the Max foundation to Learn more about that. And it's not just the shoes from the coaches, but there's a ton of NBA memorabilia. Scott Morrison is a Canadian. He's. I'll pull the curtain back here a little bit, too. Remember when I used to point out that while Shea contributes to the Thunder defense, they do hide him on the easiest matchup all the time? Well, this is the. The Canadian who slapped my wrist about that and chastised me about always pointing that out, basically said, we got it. You know, ease up. Well, Shay, since at least last year, sent in some memorabilia. I know that his game Warren jersey certainly was one of the items that was able to raise a significant amount of money for a great cause. So again, I wore mine last night. They are painted. Our podcast logo is a lot of orange in it. So they painted ours in this custom orange. You see the. The logo back here?

[Tim Bontemps]

One of three, One of three.

[Ben McMahon]

There you go. I will admit I was a little self conscious last night because I didn't think this all the way through. I wore them to a Thunder Pistons game and I felt a little thundery in them. Matter of fact, JB Bickerstaff looks down at my kicks pregame. He's like, what's up with that? And then he was wearing it. He wore his last night, too. So I said, you know, the. To the Max Foundation. All right, all right. He goes, I thought you might have gone fanboy on us.

[Tim Bontemps]

That is definitely not happening. This guy's getting thrown out of arenas.

[Ben McMahon]

But hey, no kidding. I. I probably had like 25 people last night. Be like, man, nice. Like, I'm walking to the arena, man. Those are nice kicks. So they definitely are. Are eye popping and attention grabbing.

[Brian Windhorst]

Scott used to be with the Celtics. He's a really good dude. He's done an amazing job at this foundation. It's a really cool thing. And I think all you need to know is you see how many. If you watch games, you see all the coaches around the league wearing them. Like, Scott's a universally liked and respected guy, and it's. It's been very cool to see what he and Suzanne have done with this foundation. Very neat. So it's cool to be part of it.

[Tim Bontemps]

Thank you so much, Scott. Best of luck to you and your family. And we'll be bringing these out and have them on Countdown.

[Ben McMahon]

There you go.

[Brian Windhorst]

Oh, amazing. That's great.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah.

[Ben McMahon]

Fire.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, they're definitely fire.

[Tim Bontemps]

Thank you so much to McMahon and Bontemps. Thank you to Scott Morrison, his wife and son, and their foundation. Thank you to Jackson, Mark and Devon, our producers. Thank you to McManiman. Thank you for listening and watching Hoop Collective. We'll talk to you later this week. Friday the Bontemps Poll. This is going to be spicy.

[Ben McMahon]

Adios Migos. Foreign.

[Tim Bontemps]

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